The Orange Fairy Book (5 page)

'Are you Ian, the soldier's son?' he asked, as he entered the castle.

'No, of a surety,' answered the youth, who had no wish that they should
know him.

'Then who are you in the leeward, or in the windward, or in the four
brown boundaries of the sea, who are able to move my battle- chain?'

'That will be plain to you after wrestling with me as I wrestle with my
mother. And one time she got the better of me, and two times she did
not.'

So they wrestled, and twisted and strove with each other till the giant
forced Ian to his knee.

'You are the stronger,' said Ian; and the giant answered:

'All men know that!' And they took hold of each other once more, and at
last Ian threw the giant, and wished that the raven were there to help
him. No sooner had he wished his wish than the raven came.

'Put your hand under my right wing and you will find a knife sharp
enough to take off his head,' said the raven. And the knife was so
sharp that it cut off the giant's head with a blow.

'Now go and tell the daughter of the king of Grianaig; but take heed
lest you listen to her words, and promise to go no further, for she
will seek to help you. Instead, seek the middle daughter, and when you
have found her, you shall give me a piece of tobacco for reward.'

'Well have you earned the half of all I have,' answered Ian. But the
raven shook his head.

'You know only what has passed, and nothing of what lies before. If
you would not fail, wash yourself in clean water, and take balsam from
a vessel on top of the door, and rub it over your body, and to-morrow
you will be as strong as many men, and I will lead you to the dwelling
of the middle one.'

Ian did as the raven bade him, and in spite of the eldest daughter's
entreaties, he set out to seek her next sister. He found her where she
was seated sewing, her very thimble wet from the tears which she had
shed.

'What brought you here?' asked the second sister.

'Why may I not go where you can go?' answered he; 'and why are you
weeping?'

'Because in one day I shall be married to the giant who is on the
hunting hill.'

'How can I get him home?' asked Ian.

'Nought will bring him but a shake of that iron chain which hangs
outside the gate. But there is neither to leeward, nor to westward,
nor in the four brown boundaries of the sea, any man that can hold
battle with him, save Ian, the soldier's son, and he is now but sixteen
years of age.'

'In the land whence I have come there are many men with the strength of
Ian,' said he. And he went outside and pulled at the chain, but he
could not move it, and fell on his knees. At that he rose to his feet,
and gathering up his strength mightily, he seized the chain, and this
time he shook it so that three links broke. And the second giant heard
it on the hunting hill, and lifted his head, thinking—

'It sounds like the noise of Ian, the soldier's son,' said he; 'but as
yet he is only sixteen years old. Still, I had better look to it.'
And home he came.

'Are you Ian, the soldier's son?' he asked, as he entered the castle.

'No, of a surety,' answered the youth, who had no wish that this giant
should know him either; 'but I will wrestle with you as if I were he.'

Then they seized each other by the shoulder, and the giant threw him on
his two knees. 'You are the stronger,' cried Ian; 'but I am not beaten
yet.' And rising to his feet, he threw his arms round the giant.

Backwards and forwards they swayed, and first one was uppermost and
then the other; but at length Ian worked his leg round the giant's and
threw him to the ground. Then he called to the raven, and the raven
came flapping towards him, and said: 'Put your hand under my right
wing, and you will find there a knife sharp enough to take off his
head.' And sharp indeed it was, for with a single blow, the giant's
head rolled from his body.

'Now wash yourself with warm water, and rub yourself over with oil of
balsam, and to- morrow you will be as strong as many men. But beware
of the words of the knight's daughter, for she is cunning, and will try
to keep you at her side. So farewell; but first give me a piece of
tobacco.'

'That I will gladly,' answered Ian breaking off a large bit.

He washed and rubbed himself that night, as the raven had told him, and
the next morning he entered the chamber where the knight's daughter was
sitting.

'Abide here with me,' she said, 'and be my husband. There is silver
and gold in plenty in the castle.' But he took no heed, and went on
his way till he reached the castle where the knight's youngest daughter
was sewing in the hall. And tears dropped from her eyes on to her
thimble.

'What brought you here?' asked she. And Ian made answer:

'Why may I not go where you can go?'

'I was brought hither by a giant.'

'I know full well,' said he.

'Are you Ian, the soldier's son?' asked she again. And again he
answered:

'Yes, I am; but tell me, why are you weeping?'

'To-morrow the giant will return from the hunting hill, and I must
marry him,' she sobbed. And Ian took no heed, and only said: 'How can
I bring him home?'

'Shake the iron chain that hangs outside the gate.'

And Ian went out, and gave such a pull to the chain that he fell down
at full length from the force of the shake. But in a moment he was on
his feet again, and seized the chain with so much strength that four
links came off in his hand. And the giant heard him in the hunting
hill, as he was putting the game he had killed into a bag.

'In the leeward, or the windward, or in the four brown boundaries of
the sea, there is none who could give my chain a shake save only Ian,
the soldier's son. And if he has reached me, then he has left my two
brothers dead behind him.' With that he strode back to the castle, the
earth trembling under him as he went.

'Are you Ian, the soldier's son?' asked he. And the youth answered:

'No, of a surety.'

'Then who are you in the leeward, or the windward, or in the four brown
boundaries of the sea, who are able to shake my battle chain? There is
only Ian, the soldier's son, who can do this, and he is but now sixteen
years old.

'I will show you who I am when you have wrestled with me,' said Ian.
And they threw their arms round each other, and the giant forced Ian on
to his knees; but in a moment he was up again, and crooking his leg
round the shoulders of the giant, he threw him heavily to the ground.
'Stumpy black raven, come quick!' cried he; and the raven came, and
beat the giant about the head with his wings, so that he could not get
up. Then he bade Ian take out a sharp knife from under his feathers,
which he carried with him for cutting berries, and Ian smote off the
giant's head with it. And so sharp was that knife that, with one blow,
the giant's head rolled on the ground.

'Rest now this night also,' said the raven, 'and to-morrow you shall
take the knight's three daughters to the edge of the rock that leads to
the lower world. But take heed to go down first yourself, and let them
follow after you. And before I go you shall give me a piece of
tobacco.'

'Take it all,' answered Ian, 'for well have you earned it.'

'No; give me but a piece. You know what is behind you, but you have no
knowledge of what is before you.' And picking up the tobacco in his
beak, the raven flew away.

So the next morning the knight's youngest daughter loaded asses with
all the silver and gold to be found in the castle, and she set out with
Ian the soldier's son for the house where her second sister was waiting
to see what would befall. She also had asses laden with precious
things to carry away, and so had the eldest sister, when they reached
the castle where she had been kept a prisoner. Together they all rode
to the edge of the rock, and then Ian lay down and shouted, and the
basket was drawn up, and in it they got one by one, and were let down
to the bottom. When the last one was gone, Ian should have gone also,
and left the three sisters to come after him; but he had forgotten the
raven's warning, and bade them go first, lest some accident should
happen. Only, he begged the youngest sister to let him keep the little
gold cap which, like the others, she wore on her head; and then he
helped them, each in her turn, into the basket.

Long he waited, but wait as he might, the basket never came back, for
in their joy at being free the knight's daughters had forgotten all
about Ian, and had set sail in the ship that had brought him and his
brothers to the land of Grianaig.

At last he began to understand what had happened to him, and while he
was taking counsel with himself what had best be done, the raven came
to him.

'You did not heed my words,' he said gravely.

'No, I did not, and therefore am I here,' answered Ian, bowing his head.

'The past cannot be undone,' went on the raven. 'He that will not take
counsel will take combat. This night, you will sleep in the giant's
castle. And now you shall give me a piece of tobacco.'

'I will. But, I pray you, stay in the castle with me.'

'That I may not do, but on the morrow I will come.'

And on the morrow he did, and he bade Ian go to the giant's stable
where stood a horse to whom it mattered nothing if she journeyed over
land or sea.

'But be careful,' he added, 'how you enter the stable, for the door
swings without ceasing to and fro, and if it touches you, it will cause
you to cry out. I will go first and show you the way.'

'Go,' said Ian. And the raven gave a bob and a hop, and thought he was
quite safe, but the door slammed on a feather of his tail, and he
screamed loudly.

Then Ian took a run backwards, and a run forwards, and made a spring;
but the door caught one of his feet, and he fell fainting on the stable
floor. Quickly the raven pounced on him, and picked him up in his beak
and claws, and carried him back to the castle, where he laid ointments
on his foot till it was as well as ever it was.

'Now come out to walk,' said the raven, 'but take heed that you wonder
not at aught you may behold; neither shall you touch anything. And,
first, give me a piece of tobacco.'

Many strange things did Ian behold in that island, more than he had
thought for. In a glen lay three heroes stretched on their backs, done
to death by three spears that still stuck in their breasts. But he
kept his counsel and spake nothing, only he pulled out the spears, and
the men sat up and said:

'You are Ian the soldier's son, and a spell is laid upon you to travel
in our company, to the cave of the black fisherman.'

So together they went till they reached the cave, and one of the men
entered, to see what should be found there. And he beheld a hag,
horrible to look upon, seated on a rock, and before he could speak, she
struck him with her club, and changed him into a stone; and in like
manner she dealt with the other three. At the last Ian entered.

'These men are under spells,' said the witch, 'and alive they can never
be till you have anointed them with the water which you must fetch from
the island of Big Women. See that you do not tarry.' And Ian turned
away with a sinking heart, for he would fain have followed the youngest
daughter of the knight of Grianaig.

'You did not obey my counsel,' said the raven, hopping towards him,
'and so trouble has come upon you. But sleep now, and to- morrow you
shall mount the horse which is in the giant's stable, that can gallop
over sea and land. When you reach the island of Big Women, sixteen
boys will come to meet you, and will offer the horse food, and wish to
take her saddle and bridle from her. But see that they touch her not,
and give her food yourself, and yourself lead her into the stable, and
shut the door. And be sure that for every turn of the lock given by
the sixteen stable lads you give one. And now you shall break me off a
piece of tobacco.'

The next morning Ian arose, and led the horse from the stable, without
the door hurting him, and he rode across the sea to the island of the
Big Women, where the sixteen stable lads met him, and each one offered
to take his horse, and to feed her, and to put her into the stable.
But Ian only answered:

'I myself will put her in and will see to her.' And thus he did. And
while he was rubbing her sides the horse said to him:

'Every kind of drink will they offer you, but see you take none, save
whey and water only.' And so it fell out; and when the sixteen
stable-boys saw that he would drink nothing, they drank it all
themselves, and one by one lay stretched around the board.

Then Ian felt pleased in his heart that he had withstood their fair
words, and he forgot the counsel that the horse had likewise given him
saying:

'Beware lest you fall asleep, and let slip the chance of getting home
again'; for while the lads were sleeping sweet music reached his ears,
and he slept also.

When this came to pass the steed broke through the stable door, and
kicked him and woke him roughly.

'You did not heed my counsel,' said she; 'and who knows if it is not
too late to win over the sea? But first take that sword which hangs on
the wall, and cut off the heads of the sixteen grooms.'

Filled with shame at being once more proved heedless, Ian arose and did
as the horse bade him. Then he ran to the well and poured some of the
water into a leather bottle, and jumping on the horse's back rode over
the sea to the island where the raven was waiting for him.

'Lead the horse into the stable,' said the raven, 'and lie down
yourself to sleep, for to-morrow you must make the heroes to live
again, and must slay the hag. And have a care not to be so foolish
to-morrow as you were to-day.'

'Stay with me for company,' begged Ian; but the raven shook his head,
and flew away.